New technology company to add facility at Innovation Square

Published: May 8 2014

Category:Announcements, InsideUF, Top Stories

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Zeeko Ltd, an international technology company specializing in ultra-precision polishing machines, is adding a research facility at Innovation Square. The new location will join the company’s others in Japan and Wales, adding a premium position to capitalize on top-tier research at the University of Florida.

“I’m the luckiest guy in the world,” said Arthur Graziano, Zeeko manager of research and director of the company’s Gainesville facility. As a newly hired UF graduate, Graziano has ties with past mentors and advisers that will give the company another advantage while connecting with the U.S. market. “I love Gainesville. I never thought I’d be able to work here after I graduated.”

Zeeko has partnered with real estate company Trimark Properties to establish a state-of-the-art research facility just three blocks from UF campus at Innovation Square. The organization joins a host of tech companies migrating to the area to feed from the benefits of being located next to campus.

“When an internationally successful company like Zeeko chooses to open an office in Gainesville, it really says something about how powerful a player our city has become”, said Trimark managing partner John Fleming. “Obviously Zeeko thinks that Gainesville’s pro-business environment and the proximity of Innovation Square to UF will help it grow. And Gainesville wins, because it means more jobs for our community.”

Based in the United Kingdom, Zeeko supplies more than 70 polishing machines to countries all over the globe from Australia to China, and all over Europe. The company’s products are used for complex surfaces and optics, like those on NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

By connecting with world renowned researchers at UF, the company plans to add value to the machines they already produce while also branching into other tech avenues.

The new research facility, located at 417 SW Eighth St., will sit between the core of Innovation Square and new housing developments being erected for young professionals and students at UF, giving the company access to talent and professional networks. The proposed Infusion Technology Center and Savion Park Luxury Apartments, also being developed by Trimark Properties, sit within a block of Zeeko’s Gainesville office. The Florida Innovation Hub at UF, the university’s entrepreneurial incubator, is also within close walking distance.

Construction has already begun at Zeeko’s new office with the much anticipated move in scheduled for early summer. The company is renting a space that is being renovated to its specifications, according to a Trimark spokesperson. The initial lease is for 1,508 square feet, but the overall building is larger, allowing for additional growth when needed.